A neighbor down the way gave us 4 pygmy goats that were always hand fed. We have had them a week and they are in the pasture with all the other goats and nice green grass, but we have yet to see them eat. Will they finally come around?

-- Carole Hall (carle@earthlink.net), February 27, 2001

Answers

I had this same problem with my goats, only I was the one who spoiled them. Once the grass got growing and it was ready to let them graze...they wouldn't. What I did was give them less and less feed every day until they chose to supplement with grass. Now they are ok and will graze. It took about a week to do this. I started out the first day with alot less feed then what I had been giving them. Just be sure that the other goats that graze don't get in the habit of getting feed all the time! ;-)

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), February 27, 2001.

The nice green grass especially freshly growing is a little akin to feeding your dogs a nice steaming hot bowl of peas. A vegatarian a nice t-bone steak, or me liver! Yick! It is not that a dog couldn't eat peas, or a vegatarian steak, or me liver, it is just not what we would choose to eat. Goats are not grazers like cattle and sheep. They are browsers like deer, and will choose the seed tops off of overgrown grass before a lush fertilized pasture. They also prefer to be eating with their heads up, the reason you see many very large does and lots of bucks pastured eating on their knees. I would at least be offering these new goats, some of what they are used to eating, and letting them out to graze. Nice hay is probably the best diet for them anyway! Don't forget to worm your new additons!

And it can't go without saying that a week with you and they are already in with your own stock? You will be lucky not to have any health problems. Even from just down the road, all farms have different ecoclimates of worms and cocci, and every other disease, along with different immunity levels, to cope with them. Even something as benign as the manure/dirt/poop that is between their toes and in their hoofs can bring in soremouth, CL, Johnes, and ecoli. Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 27, 2001.

Goats don't graze. Sheep Graze. Goats are like deer they browse. They will clean out fence rows and prune small trees but they do not graze

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), February 27, 2001.

Graze ,browse, what difference what word was used? My goats will graze, walking along the ground happily munching the grass, ignoring the flower vines and anything growing on the fence edges. I would have to say that my goats do not Browse, as the actually eat. The actual word does not make any difference as it is clear that the subject was that the goats were not eating. Ok, I am getting off my soap box now. I don't think word correction is necessary when it is clear what the question is.

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), February 28, 2001.

Oh, on my first post, I forgot to tell you that I would pour the grain on the ground, I know I am probably making some people cring, but that is how I taught mine to eat the stuff on the ground. This really, really works!!

-- Cindy in Ok (cynthiacluck@yahoo.com), February 28, 2001.

I certainly wasn't correcting anybodys grammar or spelling! Graze is just tradionaly used as a term for mowing the grass, like cows, horses and sheep do. (head down) Browsing is eating the taller seeded grass, weeds, small brush, and trees. (head up) Just like a cow will come by and take a swipe at brush now and then it gets most of its nutrition from a good fertilized pasture of grass. A goat certainly also will eat grass, but it will do much better on browse.

My girls will pick hay or the woods rather than the pastures, this is why we are introducing donkeys. Having no woods for browse, or any hay out, any goat is smart enough to eat what is available to stay alive. Even the paper (wood, browse) and the glue (protein) from tin cans! :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), February 28, 2001.

eeeeeks! Graze/Browse... this is all my fault. In the interest of being brief with my first question, I didn't give the full details. the goats were actually given to my male friend. He commented on the problem, and I don't know a thing about goats, so being the supportive sweetie pie I am, I checked the net, found this group, and the word graze came straight from me cause I didn't know better. But at least I do now, and you can be sure I will say "browse" from now on. So... I learned two things here, the other being that they will eventually browse when they get hungry enough. Thanks for giving this "city" gal some help..... I need it :)

-- Carole Hall (carle@earthlink.net), February 28, 2001.

My goats graze and browse. They can have a whole manger full of hay, but when the first grass comes up in the spring,they will eat it right down to the ground. If your goats have a little hay to eat, they will eventually learn to eat the grass like the other goats. My observation has been that dam raised kids are much quicker to catch onto grazing and browsing than bottle fed, because their mother teaches them what to eat. If these goats were bottle fed it may be a while before they catch on.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), February 28, 2001.

You guys never stop amazing me on not getting the point. there is a difference between grazing and browsing. You used the right word when you said graze. If they eat the grass from the ground they are grazing. Browesing (lie deers do)is when they reach up to eat. Yes a hungry goat will graze but in the most part because of the way they swallow...goats browes.

-- grant (organicgrange@yahoo.com), February 28, 2001.

I got the point, but I don't agree with it. My goats like to graze even when they are well fed with plenty of hay. They do not have to be starved to enjoy grazing grass. They do enjoy a lot of variety, and like to browse on other plants besides just grass all the time, such as trees, raspberry canes, comfrey, clover, and other broad leaved plants. But even when they have trees and broad leaved plants available in their mangers along with hay, you will see them out in the pasture walking along grazing with their heads to the ground.

-- Rebekah (daniel1@itss.net), March 01, 2001.